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Friday, May 24, 2013

A while back I created a Web 2.0 Address book for my personal use to remember all of the hundreds...(ok possibly thousands) of websites and usernames and passwords that I use both with my kids and for personal use. But then I got to thinking...my students need this too! With our county server each student not only has to remember a username and password to login to the computers, but to get onto the Internet, as well as all of the sites that they use on a regular basis, which of course all use various usernames and passwords! Their poor little heads are way too overcrowded. Thus they are always coming up to me asking "What was that password again?"

So, instead of me having to keep up with 500 little people's login information for 500 different websites, I created a way for them to keep up with it themselves. Beginning next year my students in grades 2-5 will have their very own Web Address book for them to keep up with all of the websites, url's, usernames and passwords that they use frequently. It includes space for 12 websites (which is plenty for mine), but you can add more pages if you like. I think my kiddos are really going to like the idea of having their own personal address book, so I am super excited! If you'd like to use these in your classroom check them out on my TPT site by clicking the picture below and let me know what you think!

I LOVE word clouds. I just think they are so easy to create...just throw a bunch of words in a pile and they turn out so pretty and colorful and organized in some fashion. There are tons of sites that you can use to create word clouds like Wordle and Tagxedo, which are tons of fun and great to use with older kids. But they can get a little too advanced for my little ones, mainly my kinders. So I found a very simple, easy to use word cloud generator on ABCYa that is perfect for little typers!

ABCYa is an educational game website for students in K-5. In addition to the games in 2nd-5th grade is a fun little word cloud maker!

I decided to have my Kindergarteners create a word cloud about all they had done in Kindergarten throughout the year. We brainstormed together on the board talking about field trips, classroom events, lunches, people, etc. They then got to choose 10 words to type into their text box. Once they were finished typing they got to change their font, color, and arrangement with simple clicks of the mouse. What I really liked about this generator is that there is an edit button where they can go back and fix any mistakes they made without having to start over...unlike Wordle. This was so much fun and the kids loved their one-of-a-kind creations!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Anywho, as the year is winding down, I don't get to see my classes as much due to testing (blah) and other activities. So I need some quick, one hour or less lessons for my kiddos to do. I came across another wonderful activity on ReadWriteThink. First of all, if you haven't checked out this website GO...RIGHT NOW...I'll be right here waiting on you!

Now that you're back, this website if FULL to the rim of fun creative, and did I mention easy-peasy, activities for students. My third graders have been learning about Greek Mythology. So to add to their classroom fun, I had them create a Trading Card, on a specific god or goddess, using ReadWriteThink. They turned out SO NEAT! The students had a graphic organizer that I created for them to fill out so that when they got to filling in the card it would be much easier. It was super fun!. Most of my students finished in plenty of time, so they decided they wanted to make more. They made them on book characters, themselves, their friends, famous athletes, etc. This was one activity that I found made the kids want to work without even knowing it! And I mean, c'mon...we all love those kinds of things! The best part was that when they were finished we printed them out on cardstock, cut them out, and they had an "Official Greek Mythology" Trading Card. They were coming up with points, who trumps who...all kinds of stuff that I never would have thought of!

This is a lesson that can fit into any curriculum and the kids love it! Make sure to check it out by clicking below! What are some ideas you have on Trading Cards in the classroom?

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I have to show you my newest creation and addition to my All In One Teacher Binder collection! I absolutely love the cute little mustaches so I definitely had to create a binder theme centered around it. The pack includes a cover, divider tabs, spine label, section dividers, monthly calendars, meeting notes, and to do lists. Check out my TPT store to get one for yourself! Remember that I'll customize it to fit your needs for no additional charge! Click on the preview to check it out!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Have you ever wished you had a book to write down all of those funny little moments when whatever comes out of your kiddos' mouths cracks you up? They are always so random and oh so funny. So I was so excited when I found this linky party at A Turn to Learn! Here goes...

Last week my kinders were typing sentences after doing some research on animals. We discussed that sentences must start with capital letters and end with periods. While I was checking over one student's work, he had no capital letters. I told him that the "D" needed to be capital in order for his sentence to be correct. Without missing a beat, my little sweetie said, "Do you see another "D" on my keyboard, because that one is lowercase only!" That goes right along with the kids that tell me "I don't have that letter, they must have left it off my keyboard!"

Gotta love my little ones...not a day goes by that they don't make me smile!